Lesson Learned
by welcometochi
Summary: It's how we respond to the biggest challenges in life that show the true nature of our character and our will to fight for what we love. Will Jay and Erin make it when everything is put on the line? (I suck at summaries just give it a read). AU Linstead Family/Drama
1. Chapter 1

**Hello all! This is a story I began writing in 2015, and quite honestly I became disinterested, never had the opportunity to post it. It was an idea that I had, and after losing Erin Lindsay's character on Chicago PD this year, I figured I could give Linstead fans something to read over the holidays. So, I've started writing it again. I hope you all enjoy it.**

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Erin stood in the kitchen making coffee, while Jay sat on the table working on paperwork that he had brought home last night. This was basically their routine every morning since they got married nearly five years ago. Erin walked toward the table, a cup of coffee in each hand. She sat down in the chair next to him, placing the cups on the table, watching him work.

"Thank you," he said, not looking up from the paperwork.

"Yup," Erin said.

"Big day today, huh?" Jay said, still completely engrossed in the paperwork in front of him.

"Yeah, Nadia's first day as a uniform at District 8, and Ethan's first day with a nanny. I'm not sure I can handle this, Jay. It seems like it's moving way too fast. It only feels like last week we brought him home from the hospital and Nadia was taking care of him during work hours. Now she's a cop, and our son is almost four years old."

"Yeah I know but he's gonna be fine. The nanny is one the day care recommended and we've met with her twice. She seems great. I'm sure he'll adjust fine," Jay said, "and speaking of the little monster I hear tiny feet running this way."

Erin and Jay watched as their son ran from his bedroom, straight into his mom's arms. He was a spitting image of his father (except he had short sandy blonde hair), and tried to mimic his daddy's every move. He was a hyper little guy that wore everyone out.

"Good mornin' mommy," Ethan said, smiling so wide it showed his dimples (one of the few features he got from Erin).

"Good morning, baby," Erin said, kissing his forehead.

"What about me, big guy? Do I not get a good morning kiss too?" Jay said, grabbing him from Erin and tickling him.

"Okay, I'm sowwy," Ethan said in between laughs.

Jay kissed his son on the cheek, "Why don't you and I go get dressed while mommy makes you breakfast? Your new nanny should be here soon."

Ethan went into his room and picked out his favorite Chicago Blackhawks t-shirt, and black shorts, with neon green socks. Jay laughed as he helped his son get dressed.

"Is my new nanny nice?" Ethan asked, looking up at his dad with the same blue eyes he had.

"Of course she is! She's gonna take great care of you." Jay said.

"Pwomise?" Ethan said, sticking his fist out toward Jay, to "fist bum" in Ethan's words.

"I promise," Jay said, touching his knuckles to his son's tiny ones.

An hour later, Ethan was watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse quietly on the couch with toys all around him, when the doorbell rang. He jumped from the couch and immediately hid behind it.

Erin and Jay laughed at their son's reaction to his nanny arriving for the first time.

Jay opened the door with Erin by his side. "Hi, Kylie, come on in," Jay said.

"Thanks. You have a lovely house." Kylie said.

"Thank you," Erin said, "Ethan, why don't you come out and say hello to Kylie?"

Ethan peeked his head up over the top of the couch and looked up at his new nanny. She had blonde hair and green eyes, and was wearing a Chicago Blackhawks sweatshirt and shorts. He walked toward his parents hesitantly.

"This is our son, Ethan. He's shy right now but give him some time he'll have you losing your mind soon enough," Jay said sarcastically.

The three adults laughed. "That's not funny!" Ethan said, half angrily, in the same defensive way Erin would.

"There's the firecracker personality I heard about. It's nice to meet you Ethan. I'm Kylie. Do you like the Hawks?" She asked, gesturing to his shirt.

"Yes! I love hockey." Ethan said, his excitement at a new level.

"Me too! Why don't you say bye to your mommy and daddy so you and I can play hockey on the driveway outside?" Kylie asked.

Ethan hugged and kissed his parents goodbye so quickly they felt like they were being thrown out of the house. "Jay will be off work by 6, so he'll see you then."

"Okay, we'll see you later!" Ethan said, practically pushing them out of the front door.

* * *

Intelligence was having a slow day that mainly consisted of mountainous paperwork on everyone's desk. At 6 o'clock, Jay stood from his desk, and decided it was time to head home. They had a working schedule with Voight that on alternating nights either Jay or Erin would leave work early to spend time with Ethan. Jay gestured to Erin to follow him to the break room.

"Alright, I'm gonna head home and see how the day went with Kylie. Text me when you leave, okay?" Jay said, quietly.

"I will," Erin said, kissing him softly.

The drive from the precinct to the house was only 15 minutes, give or take a few depending on traffic. Jay walked into the house which was unusually quiet for 6:30 pm. Usually, Ethan would be bouncing off the walls at this hour.

"Hello?" Jay said.

"In here," Kylie whispered.

Jay walked into his son's room to find Ethan asleep, and Kylie sitting on the edge of his bed. Jay kneeled near his son's bedside and gave him a kiss.

"What are you some kind of miracle worker? We can barely get him to bed at 8!" Jay whispered.

"He's a good boy. I guess playing hockey all day wore him out." Kylie said, silently laughing.

"Yeah he likes to pretend he's Patrick Kane," Jay said, shaking his head.

"He adores you. If we weren't talking about hockey today, he was talking about his daddy catching bad guys. He's adorable, he looks just like you. He's got your eyes." Kylie said, with a mischievous smirk on her face, looking into his eyes.

Jay immediately stood up, feeling uncomfortable. "Yeah well um…thank you, Kylie. We'll see you tomorrow at the same time." Jay said, awkwardly walking out of his son's room, with Kylie following him.

"Yeah, have a good night," she said, letting herself out of the house.

"What the hell was that?" Jay mumbled to himself before grabbing a beer from the refrigerator and sitting on the couch.

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	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: You Miss All the Shots You Don't Take

"Goal!" Ethan shouted enthusiastically, raising his hockey stick in the air.

It was nearly 6:30 pm, and Kylie had taken Ethan outside to enjoy the lovely June weather. She sat in one of the patio chairs watching Ethan shoot plastic hockey pucks into his miniature hockey net.

Erin pulled up to their home and parallel parked on the street, smiling as she watched her son do his best hockey player imitation. For a 4 year old, he's pretty good, she thought to herself. She stepped out of the car and walked toward her home. Ethan took another slap shot that flew toward the back of the net.

"I'm gonna need to buy you some skates soon, huh?" Erin said, smiling.

Ethan's eyes lit up. "Mommy!" he screamed tossing the stick aside and running towards her for a hug. Erin picked him up and held him tightly. "Can I pretty please have skates for my birthday?"

"Sure thing, E. How was your day?" Erin asked, carrying him and walking toward the patio where Kylie was sitting.

"It was good. We played all day. How bout you Mommy? Did you catch bad guys today?" Ethan asked.

"Oh yeah we did!" Erin said enthusiastically, trying to hide the fact that she was dealing with one of the hardest cases of her career. There was a man abducting, abusing, and killing young children from their homes. Both Jay and Erin were having a difficult time with this case. It was all too familiar to the Ben Corson case from years ago, and now having their own child, it hit too close to home.

Erin smiled at Kylie and sat in the chair next to her. "Go on and practice your slap shot, little man," she said, nudging Ethan back to the driveway.

Ethan ran towards the driveway and Erin directed her attention to Kylie. "How was he today?"

"He was great. His normal energetic self. How about yourself, Erin?" Kylie said, looking at her with curiosity.

"Eh, it was a rough day. We're dealing with a really difficult case involving some kidnappings. Young kids. So I'm glad I'm home spending time with Ethan." Erin said, watching her son fire a shot towards the goal, and miss. "It's okay buddy you aren't gonna make all the shots you take."

"Yeah I can imagine. Well, I'll see myself out then. We made lasagna for dinner and there's leftovers in the fridge if you'd like."

"Thanks, Kylie. We'll see you tomorrow." Erin said, giving her a small smile.

Erin watched Ethan fire yet another shot towards the net, and miss. He walked over to her, and sat in the seat Kylie had been sitting in, disappointed.

"What's up Eth?" Erin asked, smiling at her son.

"I keep missing my slap shot. I give up." Ethan said, quietly.

"Oh no, you don't give up! Hockey takes a lot of practice, and the more you practice and the bigger and stronger you get the better you'll be. You miss all of the shots you don't take, Ethan. Trying is better than doing nothing. Remember that." Erin said, ruffling her son's hair.

"Okay, momma," Ethan said, smiling and flashing the dimples he got from Erin. He returned to the driveway and fired hockey pucks at the net; Erin watched and smiled at how such a rough day can be changed by one moment.

* * *

Jay arrived home a little after 9 pm, and found Erin sitting on the couch watching a rerun of some reality television show, with Ethan's tiny body curled up in her lap. Jay placed the files he brought home from work on the counter top, and walked over to the couch to join them. He gave his wife a light kiss, and leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead.

"He wanted to wait up and see you. He wanted to tell you about how good his thlap shot is looking" Erin said, imitating his lisp and looking at the sleeping boy in her arms.

Jay chuckled quietly. "We've got a future NHL player on our hands here, Er. I'm sure of it."

"We can only hope," Erin said, rubbing her son's back as he slept. "Did you guys get any leads after I left?"

Jay took a deep breath. "No, nothing. The guy's a ghost. We're trying to find a pattern in the abductions now. See if he left anything we can work off of."

There was a silence in the room for a few moments. Both of them stared mindlessly at the TV, trying to ignore the situation they were in.

"It's like I'm reliving the past, except worse this time. Every time I hear about the case, I go back to when I found Ben Corson on patrol." Jay said quietly.

Erin reached over and held her husband's hand. "I know. But there's a difference this time. You have me, you aren't alone. We're gonna find this guy, and bring those kids home."

"Yeah I hope so," Jay said, resting his head against Erin's shoulder and closing his eyes. Being at home put him at ease; moments like this made him realize how beautiful life is. Even when it wasn't.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Revenge Doesn't Get You Anywhere

"Halstead what do we got?" Voight said while facing the board with his arms folded across his chest. Erin sat at her desk; her eyes on her husband, Antonio leaned on his desk, while Ruzek paced around the room.

"So we've been trying to find the link between the abductions. The first one happened two months ago, 6 year old Jason Novak went missing from his bedroom at some time during the night. His father is a police officer at the 4th district and his mother is a defense lawyer at one of the biggest firms in Chicago."

Jay stopped talking and took a deep breath, looking at the ground. "They um…they found his body in the trunk of a stolen silver Camry two weeks after he went missing."

Ruzek walked toward Jay and put a hand on his shoulder. "I got it from here, man." Jay gave him a thankful nod, and took a seat on Erin's desk. Erin gave his hand a gentle, reassuring squeeze, before turning her attention to Ruzek.

"The second and third kidnappings happened a week apart. 8-year-old Lilly Jameson was taken from her backyard in the Southwest side. Her mom is a nurse and her dad is a trauma surgeon at Chicago Med. 4 year old Aidan Donald was taken from his friend's house on the Southwest side, less than 5 miles from where Lilly was taken. Mom stays at home with him and his newborn sister; dad works in the narcotics unit. We have reason to believe they're both alive." Ruzek said, glancing at their photos that were taped on the board.

"Alright, so this case is officially ours. See if there's any connection between the narcotics and any arrests made in district 4. Try to find a common link between the three abductions. The jackass had to screw up somewhere."

Voight started walking toward his office when he turned around and took a deep breath. "Look I know all of you have kids, godchildren, nieces, nephews…whatever the case is, if this gets to be too much for you, leave. I don't want you here unless your head is one hundred percent with this case."

"You got it, boss," Ruzek said, firmly. Erin gave Voight a slight nod, while Jay continued to stare at his computer screen, looking through a list of child predators in the area where the kidnappings occurred.

Nearly an hour passed by, when Jay got to the archived articles of the Sun Times. His heart skipped a beat and he felt his stomach turn. An image of Lonnie Rodiger flashed across the screen. "Child Predator Found Dead" was the headline. The memories of that day came flooding back. Voight stripping him of his badge and gun, Erin not believing him…he never felt more alone in his life. At least, in his life in Intelligence.

Jay rose from his seat and went toward the break room to have his third cup of coffee of the day. His hands still shaking, he reached for a mug on one of the high shelves, and dropped it. The sound of the crashing ceramic sent Erin to her feet and towards the break room. She peeked over at his computer screen, and cringed at the headline. She remembered how miserable that time was for her. She was fighting her feelings for Jay, and she had chosen to not believe him. Sure, they moved passed it, and they were fine now, but it's something she would never forgive herself for.

Erin stood in the doorway, her arms folded across her chest. Jay was on his hands and knees, cursing under his breath, picking up the shattered mug off the floor.

"Jay," Erin said, barely audible. Jay didn't pay any attention to her, and continued to clean up the mess. Erin walked toward him and kneeled next to him.

"Jay," she said again, grabbing his hand. He looked up at her with pain-filled eyes, "I can't," he said in a whispered tone.

"It's okay," she said, retrieving the garbage can and bringing it to Jay. "Go home, Jay. Clear your head. Spend time with E. Take him out for ice cream or go to the park. You need the break. And I'm sure Kylie does too. Spending time with that monster can't be easy."

Jay chuckled to himself. "Yeah, I'll let Voight know."

"I think we got something," Atwater said, peeking his head into the doorway of the break room.

Erin and Jay looked at each other and followed Atwater quickly. Ruzek stood at the front of the room, intently looking through some of the paper work he obtained just a few minutes ago.

"Okay so I found a link between the three abductions. All of the parents have a link to a man named Hector de Jesus. He was a newly paroled felon with a laundry list of crimes. Started when he was 15 with possession, and by the time he was 25 he was in Statesville for armed robbery. He also was-"

"I don't need a biography on the guy, Ruzek. Tell us how he's connected." Olinsky said.

"I was getting there, Al. Officer Novak, who said he was charging at him, after Novak saw him shoot a man in a drug deal gone wrong, shot him. He was then taken to Chicago Med by ambulance, and trauma surgeon Jameson was unable to save him. The narcotics unit swept through his home and found drug money and illegal drugs in the basement."

"So that's the connection. Now we need to find out if he has any brothers, cousins, friends, that would want to go after the families." Erin said.

"I'll never be able to understand how you can hurt a kid." Atwater said, shaking his head.

"Revenge. Try to hurt those the way they hurt you." Ruzek said, avoiding eye contact.

"Alright everyone, we have our lead, now get to work." Voight said, and everyone went back to his or her desks, eager to find the next piece of the puzzle.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The intelligence unit sat at their desks, when Olinsky and Ruzek came running up the stairs. Olinsky silently walked toward his desk, grabbing a snack from the drawer and taking a seat. Ruzek walked toward the white board with a photo in hand.

"We got a name and a mug shot," Ruzek said, taping the photo to the board and grabbing a dry erase marker to write with. "Raul Martinez, he's the nephew of de Jesus. He's from the Roseland area, and he's got a couple charges for possession and aggravated assault on his record. Now, we aren't sure, but my CI says that Martinez and de Jesus were always close, he practically raised him since his dad wasn't around."

Voight nodded. "Nice work. Any idea where he hides out?"

Ruzek shook his head. "CI said that he hasn't been home in a while. The rumor in the neighborhood is that he left to Mexico after his uncle was killed."

"Does he have any relatives we can talk to? A girlfriend?" Lindsay asked.

"He has an ex girlfriend name Cynthia Torres lives in the Pilsen area. His mom, according to my CI is an old, sick woman. She's been hospitalized at Chicago Med for the last 2 months." Ruzek said.

"Alright I want Halstead and Lindsay to go interview the ex girlfriend. See if she knows anything about what Martinez has been up to recently. Atwater and Antonio go talk to the mom."

"Text me the address to the house, Adam." Lindsay said.

The four detectives rose from their seats and walked toward their stairs. They stepped outside into the blistering Chicago heat.

"Good lord, you can't win in this city. It's either a freezer or an oven. No in between," Jay said, stepping into the passenger side of the car.

Erin laughed. "Don't act like you aren't used to it by now. And besides, I would rather have this than be stuck on a stake out in freezing temperatures and the car heater burnt out. Remember that?"

"How could I forget? I thought I was going to freeze to death."

Erin and Jay both laughed at the memory as she drove toward Cynthia Torres's home. "What about the time Eth hit you in the face with that snowball last year?"

"Don't you dare try to blame our kid for that, Halstead. He was 2 and there's no possible way he could make and throw a snowball that well." Erin said.

Erin parked in front of the woman's house. "Oh please, he totally can. The kid's a freak athlete if you haven't noticed."

"Oh trust me, I have."

Jay and Erin walked up the steps of the older, run down home. Part of the siding was missing, and the railing on the steps was rusty. The lawn was filled with old patio furniture, along with bags of trash. The doorbell was broken, so Jay knocked on the metal screen door of the house, and waited for an answer. A few moments later a petite brunette came to the door, her long black hair came down to her lower back, and her dark brown eyes were filled with concern. She wore shorts and a tank top and was fanning herself with an old newspaper.

"Can I help you?" she said.

"Cynthia Torres?" Erin said, holding up the badge that was around her neck.

"Yes? Am I in trouble?" she asked, starting to get panicked.

"We're detectives Lindsay and Halstead. We have a few questions for you about Raul Martinez," Erin said.

"Can we come inside?" Jay asked, looking behind the woman at the living room that she was standing in.

"Oh no, your best bet is to stay outside. My air conditioning is out so it's cooler out here believe it or not. Look, I don't know much about what Raul is up to okay it was a short relationship." Cynthia said.

"When was the last time you saw him?" Jay asked.

"A month ago? Maybe longer?" Cynthia said.

"And what was his behavior like?" Erin said.

"Did he tell you anything about his uncle?" Jay asked, at the same time.

"I can't do this." Cynthia said, before attempting to close the door.

Jay stuck his hand out and caught it before she could. "If you stop now, we'll arrest you for being an accomplice to murder of a little boy and withholding evidence for two other possible child abductions."

"What are you talking about?" A panicked look washed over her face as she retained the information Jay had just told her.

"We have reason to believe Raul is involved in the murder of a young boy, along with the kidnapping of two other children. Now, you can tell us here right now, or you can keep your mouth shut and you can have an interrogation with our boss. And trust me he gets his answers," Erin says, sternly.

Cynthia took a deep breath. "Look all I can tell you is the last time I saw him he was like a man possessed. He showed up here about 10 days ago, he had some money stashed in the house and he came to get it. He refused to speak to me and I kept my mouth shut because I never liked getting involved in his business. He told me that it would be the last time I see him."

"What kind of car is he driving?" Erin asked.

"Um..black Ford Explorer. Last I seen of him. He got it new he said. Said his old car was totaled." Cynthia said.

"What kind of car was he driving before?"

"A camry. Wasn't his. It was stolen." Cynthia said, the tears filling her eyes and her voice shaking. Jay and Erin exchanged glances; they were sure they had their guy.

"Anything else?" Jay said.

"That's all I know. I swear." Cynthia said.

"How much money was stashed in the house?" Erin asked.

"A few thousand. Probably somewhere around 10. It was his emergency cash." Cynthia said, shrugging her shoulders.

Erin turned around and headed down the steps toward the car. Jay gave Cynthia Torres a nod and followed his partner to the car. When Jay reached the car, Erin had her head resting on the steering wheel, her hazel eyes shut.

"Er," Jay said quietly. "We're gonna find them."

Erin sighed. "What if he isn't in Chicago anymore? The son of the bitch took the money 10 days ago for all we know he could be halfway around the world at this point and those kids could be-," she said, her voice getting louder by the end of the sentence.

"Hey," Jay said, "we're gonna figure this out."

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 **I would love to hear your thoughts leave me a review!**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

It was a sunny Saturday morning, and one of the few Saturdays Jay and Erin had off together. Usually, one of them would work half of the day with Voight and Olinsky, and the other would stay home with Ethan. But this weekend, Voight gave them both the weekend off. They needed to get away from the case, and spend time with their son.

Jay sat in his usual seat at the kitchen table; phone in hand, scrolling through the day's headlines. Erin was in the kitchen, making pancakes for her family, like she did on almost every day off she had. Ethan was still sleeping, but they were expecting him to come running down the stairs at any minute.

"My buddy at The Cell got us tickets to the Cubs-Sox game today. It's a perfect day for the kid to see his first baseball game. What do you think?" Jay said.

"I couldn't agree more. He's gonna be so excited. I can't wait for my little man to see the Cubbies in person." Erin said, with a mischievous smirk.

"Oh please, he's a Sox fan. Like his old man." Jay said with a laugh.

Sprinting down the stairs came Ethan, right on cue. "Good morning, little man," Jay said, giving his son a fist bump.

"What's for breakfast, mommy? Pancakes?" Ethan asked excitedly.

"You know it, Ethan." Erin said smiling at her son.

"Hey buddy, come sit here I wanna ask you a question." Jay said, gesturing for his son to sit in the chair next to his. Ethan walked over to the kitchen table and jumped on the seat, his tiny ankles hanging over. "How would you like to go to your first baseball game with mommy and I today?"

Ethan's blue eyes lit up. "Yes, yes, a bazillion times yes!"

"It's Cubs against Sox, so you're gonna have to pick one," Jay said before lowering his voice to a whisper, "pick the Sox, Ethan, they actually win games."

"Hey none of that, Halstead, let the kid pick himself." Erin said, putting a plate of pancakes in front of her son and then in front of Jay.

The family arrived at the stadium later that evening. Jay was dressed in a White sox t-shirt and baseball cap, and Erin wore her Cubs jersey. Ethan was wearing a Sox t-shirt, with a cubs hat, showing support for both of his parents teams. The family walked through the stadium to their seats, Jackson holding each of his parent's hands, his blue eyes lighting up at the sight of the enormous baseball diamond in front of him.

"Wow," Ethan said, admiring the players warming up on the field. Jay and Erin both smiled at their son's genuine reaction to seeing a professional baseball game for the first time.

"What do ya think, buddy?" Jay said, leading Ethan towards their lower level seats.

"It's so cool." He watched as the grounds crew, finished their last minute preparations on the field. From a distance he could see the pitcher warming up in the bullpen, and then he watched him jog towards the pitching mound through the thick, green grass. He watched as the players began to arrive in each of their dugouts, drinking Gatorade and eating sunflower seeds.

"I'm gonna go get some food before the game starts. Hot dogs sound good?" Jay asked his wife and son.

"Yep," they said in unison. Jay rose from his seat and walked toward one of the many concession stands, and picking the one he likes best. He orders three hotdogs and some drinks, along with an order of nachos that come in a White Sox baseball helmet. He was patiently waiting in the mile long line, when someone called his name.

"Jay!" Kylie said, walking towards him. She was wearing a Chicago Cubs crop top and red short shorts. Her blonde hair was curled and she wore cub ears on her head.

A group of girls stood not too far behind her, giggling and drinking beer.

"Hey, Kylie," Jay said, greeting the nanny. He could tell she was a bit tipsy by the way she walked toward him.

"You probably think I'm a complete drunk right now. I'm here for my friend's bachelorette party." Kylie said, laughing and putting her hand on Jay's waist.

Jay side eyed her hand, and gave her an awkward smile. "No, no we all need to have some fun after a long week. No worries."

"Next," the cashier called out.

"That's me. I'll see you on Monday okay?" Jay said.

"Yeah," Kylie said, smiling.

Kylie walked back toward her friends with a funny look on her face. She was smiling, but not genuinely like she was when she first saw Jay.

"Damn Kyles, he is hot like you said. I would snatch him up and run away," one of Kylie's friends' suggested.

If only you knew, Kylie thought in her head before taking a sip of her beer and walking toward her seat with her friends.

Jay walked back to the seats, carrying trays of food and drinks for his family. When he distributed the food and sat down, he started talking to Erin.

"Kylie is here," Jay said.

"Really?" Ethan said, excitedly.

"Yeah, but she's here with her friends. She says hello though." Jay said to Ethan.

"Bachelorette party," Jay mouthed to Erin, and Erin chuckled.

"How bad?" Erin said, grinning.

"Not too bad. At least when I saw her." Jay said, shaking his head.

The game was halfway over, and the Sox were winning 3-2. Jay was enjoying picking on Erin, and brainwashing Ethan into becoming a White Sox fan. Erin pulled out her phone and went to the camera setting. She flipped it to the front facing camera and took a selfie with her and her family. She lived for moments like this. It was these moments that made every hardship worthwhile.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

The 21st district was far too busy for a Wednesday afternoon. One of the week long music festivals were in town, and the first floor of the district was filled with teenagers who were arrested for underage drinking or with grown men for drunk and disorderly. Platt was at her snarkiest on days like this, she couldn't tolerate the people that came into her district.

"What about this one, Serg?" one of her beat cops said.

"Book him," she said without looking up from her desk. "Hooligans," she muttered under her breath.

Just as she said that a tall man with blond hair and blue eyes approached her desk. The man wore dark jeans and worker boots, with a light blue t-shirt. He walked through the mob of festival junkies and stumbled at Platt's desk.

"Can I help you?" Platt said, with an eye roll.

"I needed to speak with someone in Intelligence," he said, "my name is Matt Donald."

Platt looked up at the man putting the pieces together. He looked exhausted, dark circles had formed under his eyes. He looked to be fairly young, but she could tell the stress had aged him in recent days.

"Oh, yes of course Mr. Donald," Platt said walking out from behind her desk and towards the stairs. "How's your family holding up?"

"Not well. We don't sleep or eat. We're taking life day by day, hoping and praying for the best." Matt said.

Platt nodded as she opened the gate. "Well you've got some of the best on your son's case. They'll do whatever it takes."

Platt then directed her attention to the Intelligence unit that was in the bullpen. Antonio and Atwater were on a call, Ruzek was shooting paper balls into the waste basket, and Jay and Erin were working diligently at their desks, hoping to leave early to spend time with their son. Voight and Olinsky were in Voight's office, discussing a case with the door closed.

They three detectives in the bullpen looked up from their work when Platt arrived with Matt Donald. "This is Matt Donald, narcotics. He wanted to speak to you about his son's case."

The three detectives rose from their seats and walked toward Matt. They each gave him small genuine smiles, that held a bit of pity. He shook each of their hands, and Erin began to speak. "Why don't you and I have some coffee in the break room and we can talk?"

They walked toward the break room and Matt took a seat at the table. Erin went over to the counter and poured two cups of coffee for her and the worried father sitting at the table. He anxiously tapped his foot and looked around the room at the various photos and wall hangings.

"Big hawks fans in this unit, huh?" he said, trying to ease some of the tension.

Erin chuckled. "My husband and most of the guys are. I can't say I was a fan before I met Jay, after that it was forced on me."

"Aidan is a big Hawks fan. He was looking forward to starting ice hockey this fall. Seems like so long ago." Matt said, staring blankly down at his cup of coffee.

"Is there something we can do for you, Mr. Donald?" Erin asked trying to figure out what brought the detective into their district.

"Call me Matt. I uh…well it's a month to the day. You know, since Aidan went missing. My wife and I, we don't sleep. We barely eat. Yesterday was one of the first nights I slept the full night in a while. I took some sleeping pill, and I regret it entirely. I got something on my phone. Nearly 4 am, from a blocked caller. I have the voicemail on my phone. I think I heard Aidan's voice."

"Can you play it for me?" Erin asked, and then she turned around and gestured for Adam and Jay to come in the room.

The two younger detectives stood over the table as Matt Donald played the message. Behind the sound of two men arguing in Spanish, you can hear a little boy speaking faintly.

"Please tell me you heard that and I'm not crazy." Donald said.

"We heard it." Jay said.

"Sounded like a kid saying something along the lines of 'no I want my mom and dad'" Ruzek said.

"Not a kid. My boy. My kid." He says, the fury building in his eyes.

Ruzek nodded and exchanged a look with Halstead. "Why don't you follow us into the bullpen and we can bring this to the attention of our sergeant?"

The four walked into the bullpen and Halstead knocked on Voight's office door. He opened it shortly after and cut Voight off mid sentence.

"We may have something." He said, and the two older men followed him into the bullpen.

Voight and Olinsky stood near the white board at the front of the room. Halstead retrieved the phone from Matt Donald, and stood in the middle of the room. The rest of the unit stood around him.

"Well what are you waiting for?" Voight said to Halstead.

"Last night, Matt Donald, father of Aidan Donald, received this voicemail at 3:47 am. The caller is blocked. I'll let you and O take a listen yourselves, we've listened to it enough times." Jay said, passing the phone over to Hank.

Hank and Olinsky held the phone to their ears and listened to the recorded message three times. "Is that a kid?" Hank said.

"My kid." Donald said.

"No guaranteeing that, could be someone trying to mess with your head," Olinsky said bluntly.

"And what are they arguing about in Spanish?" Voight said.

"From the Spanish we know, and we're talking high school Spanish and street terms. It's something along the lines of 'we need the money so we can get the hell out of here' and the second man responds 'but what about the kid, we can't leave him here he'll kill us.'" Erin said, shrugging her shoulders.

"Alright, Halstead get this to Mouse to see if he can buffer the kid's voice in this message, and have him find a location on this phone. Ruzek I need you to get a conformation on what is being said in this voice mail. Ask Platt for a Spanish speaker. Lindsay you work on finding if Martinez had any minions." Voight said.

The unit broke apart with Jay taking the phone from Hank and walking down the hall towards Mouse's makeshift office. Ruzek jogged down the stairs to look for a Spanish speaking cop, and Lindsay sat at her desk to begin searching for accomplices to Martinez.

Less than 20 minutes later, Halstead was back with Mouse and a location on where the phone was. Shortly after Ruzek came running up the stairs.

"I got a confirmation from Garcia downstairs. So I guess that high school Spanish Lindsay took paid off mucho." Ruzek said, winking.

Erin rolled her eyes and directed her attention toward Hank. "I have no record of Martinez having any minions. My guess is they either have no background connection to him or they're not in the system at all."

"Mouse, how about the location?" Voight asked.

"Prepaid phone. Location was somewhere near 21stand Wabash but it was moving." Mouse said.

"Which direction?" Voight said.

"Uh, south for a while. Then it started heading east. It's moving fast. You might wanna get moving before they dump the phone. I'm gonna check the pods and see if we have a black Explorer. See if I can get a plate number."

"Everyone suit up. Lindsay stay here with Donald. Mouse you keep us up to date with the location." Voight said before storming down the hall to retrieve his vest.

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